Quoted from JMK:

Phat_Jay above said it best: Speculative buying and it’s immediate resale at a higher level will only result in higher msrp’s. We’re “shooting ourselves in the foot”.
I think that’s an ongoing concern. If Stern sees that buyers are willing to shell out $10k plus for their sought after LE titles; what’s to prevent them from continuing to raise the prices on these. It was unbelievable how sought after those BM66 SLE models were (even at the extremely high price points).

Quoted from pinnyheadhead:

If you missed out on a $8900+ LE and can’t live with a $7300 Prem which plays the same because it will just make you unhappy and won’t fit your “lifestyle” then you deserve to be gouged.

Quoted from PinCrush:

For me its about intent, which admittedly is hard to gauge.
Scenario 1: Somebody buys a pinball machine because they're excited or passionate about the title. They play the crap out of it but for whatever reason discover it doesn't work for them. They go to sell the machine and the market has gone crazy and its worth a crapload. They sell it for said crapload and its way more than they paid. I've got no problem with this. Good for them, the pinball gods smiled on them.
Scenario 2: Somebody buys a pinball machine to take advantage of manufactured scarcity only intending to gouge their fellow collectors. I don't like this at all and thinks its a dick move. I make note of seller and won't do business with them in the future.
Scenario 3: Somebody buys a machine because they're excited but the market explodes before they get it - so they sell it at the elevated price before opening. I still think this is a craptastic move but not as bad as #2.
I know many if not most will disagree with me. But thats how I see it. This is supposed to be fun... speculators intentionally screwing fellow collectors is not fun.

Quoted from Allibaster:

I find it slightly scumbag-ish, particularly if you use your podcast to hype a game that you're also flipping on eBay for $13,000.

Quoted from ejacques:

All I know these days in regards to pinball pricing is that buying a pin is far better than putting the same amount of money in a bank hoping to earn interest. I get to play a game I love and then when the time comes that I have a desire to sell it or life needs dictate so, I almost never lose money. Sure, some games go through "Cold Spells" where it feels like the value has gone down, but what other collectible out there seems to just keep going up in value? Classic cars seem to fit the mold as cited a few posts back.
In my case, buying games "relatively cheap", cleaning them up and playing them for a year or so before moving them on allows me to keep fueling my hobby. Have I bought some duds - sure. Games I paid too much for or games that were basket cases that ended up costing too much in the end - sure.
But overall, it does seem like the value keeps going up over time.
Just my 2 cents. (Next week that will be worth 3 cents)

Quoted from ejacques:

Yikes what? I buy games at a price that makes sense to me at the time, I play them for a while and then I sell them, usually below what the pinside average is. If the market dictates that that price has risen since I bought it, what is the problem with that?
Should I sell my Twilight zone for $800 just because that's what I paid for I back in 1999?

Quoted from fisherdaman:

This topic comes down to ethics. Whats not ethical for me might be ethical for another. Personally, I wouldn't buy an NIB LE game with the sole intentions of selling it for 3-4xs what I paid for it, but hey thats just me.

Quoted from ejacques:

You must have one hell of a bank....Cause most savings accounts pay out next to nothing in interest.
Despite that, yes, I have a savings account.
But I also know that I can tie up some of my money in pinball and actually end up making out way better percentage wise when I decide to sell as long as I bought smart in the first place. (Case in point, I've never bought new in box for good reason)

Quoted from Potatoloco:

Economically, resellers do not affect a brand's pricing in this manner.